Chapter 1

At our ninety-ninth wedding, Lucas Rivers' childhood sweetheart, Alice Shaw, attempted suicide by jumping off a building for the ninety-ninth time.

Without a second thought, Lucas threw the ring away and turned to leave.

I grabbed his wrist, saying, "Can't you just wait until we exchange rings? It'll only take a minute. No, thirty seconds, I swear."

Lucas pried my fingers off one by one, his eyes full of disappointment as he looked at me.

Lucas said, "A life is at stake. How can you be so cold and heartless? Can't we have the wedding another time?"

The moment Lucas walked away, the system notified me that I had failed my mission and would be eliminated.

I thought about it for a second and then said, "Then let me die right in front of Lucas. Let him see what someone who actually wants to die looks like."

A few days later, Lucas stared at my shattered body and completely broke down.

*****

Just as Lucas was about to put the ring on my finger, his phone started ringing.

"Lucas, answer my call," a sweet, girlish voice echoed through the ballroom. It was the special ringtone Lucas had set for Alice.

Lucas's expression changed instantly. He pulled his hand back and answered the call.

Alice said, "Lucas, I can't be your bride in this life. What's the point of staying in a world like this?

"I don't regret meeting you. I hope I can stay by your side if there's another chance."

Lucas's hand loosened its grip on the ring.

Lucas said, his voice shaking, "Alice, don't move. I'm coming for you."

After that, he turned to me, not a trace of guilt in his eyes, just pure worry for Alice.

"Monica, Alice's in trouble. I have to go to her. We'll have to postpone the wedding," Lucas said urgently.

"No!" I shouted.

I clung to Lucas's wrist, almost screaming.

I said, "We've had ninety-nine weddings, and Alice has tried to kill herself ninety-nine times. Does she really want to die? Why does she always choose this exact moment?

"Even if this time it's real, Lucas, shouldn't you just call 911 and let the professionals handle it? Why does it always have to be you?

"You can't even wait a minute? No, just thirty seconds, just to exchange the rings?"

By the end, I was begging him in the most desperate, humble way, hoping he'd let us finish the ring exchange before he left.

But Lucas peeled my fingers off one by one, his eyes full of disappointment, as if I had committed some unforgivable sin.

"I never thought you'd be so cold and heartless. It's just a wedding; how could it ever matter more than Alice's life?" he said.

"What if I die, too, if you leave me now?" I stared into Lucas's eyes, asking him word by word.

Ten years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer in my real world. The system approached me and said that if I could marry Lucas within ten years, I'd finish the quest and survive back in my own world.

Finally, after three years, I managed to get Lucas to propose to me.

I thought I was finally about to complete the mission. At that point, I even wondered if I could ask the system to let me stay in this world.

After spending three years with Lucas, I genuinely fell for him.

In my original world, I was an orphan, with no one waiting for me, no ties at all.

I wanted to stay here and start a family with Lucas.

But just when I thought everything was finally coming together, Lucas's childhood sweetheart, Alice, returned from abroad.

She started chasing after Lucas the moment she got back, refusing to give up even after she found out I was his girlfriend.

Every time I tried to get Lucas to talk to Alice and ask her to stop bothering him, he insisted she was a child, that she couldn't tell the difference between love and childhood attachment, and that she'd figure it out once she grew up.

But at that point, Alice was already twenty, an adult who could think for herself.

With Lucas always indulging her, Alice kept crashing our dates again and again.

Eventually, it got even worse; whenever we tried to have a wedding, she'd pull the suicide card.

It had been seven years since Lucas proposed, and we already had ninety-nine weddings. Every single time, Alice went for the same suicide act.

It was like she timed it perfectly; her call always came right when we were about to exchange rings.

And every single time, Lucas would drop everything and rush to her side, no exceptions.

Now, there were only three days left before the ten-year deadline.

If Lucas walked out on me again this time, I would fail the mission and get erased for good.

Lucas clearly thought I was throwing a tantrum, and his patience was wearing thin.

Lucas said, "Monica, when did you start using these manipulative threats of hurting yourself?

"It's just a wedding; can't we just do it next time? Alice only gets one life."